by Rominna De Torres and McKaycee Abrenica Anthropology 121 Professor Leanna Wolfe

1. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
McKaycee Abrenica
Rominna Joie De Torres
Anthropology 121
Professor Wolfe
November 5, 2014

2. Hollywood Forever Cemetery has an intercultural version of the Day of
the Dead. There, in a mixture of Mexican traditions and Hollywood hip,
conventional altars are set up side-by-side with altars to Jayne Mansfield
and Johnny Ramone.

3. Some families build altars
or small shrines in their
homes; these sometimes
feature Christian cross,
statues or pictures of the
Blessed Virgin Mary,
pictures of deceased
relatives and other
persons, scores of candles
and an ofrenda.

4. There were hundreds of Aztec Ritual Dancers in full costume.
Colorful native dancers and music intermix with performance artists,
while sly pranksters play on traditional themes.

5. Dia De Los Muertos is a
time of celebration on
remembrance. It is also a
time to come to terms with
our mortality and become
aware of the cycle of life
and death. Rather than
deny and fear death this
event teaches us to accept
and contemplate the
meaning of mortality.

6. People go to cemeteries to be with
the souls of the departed and build
private altars containing the favorite
foods and beverages, as well as
photos and memorabilia, of the
departed. The intent is to
encourage visits by the souls, so
the souls will hear the prayers and
the comments of the living directed
to them. Celebrations can take a
humorous tone, as celebrants
remember funny events and
anecdotes about the departed.

7. ETERNAL QUINCEAÑERA
This altar has a theme of a peacock. Traditionally, peacocks have
been associated with the afterlife. Their colors attract spirits of the
dead back to living. They also symbolize integrity, beauty,
reincarnation, and new life.

8. On Dia De Los Muertos,
tradition holds that the dead
return to earth to visit their living
relatives. It is believed that
although these relatives can’t
see them, they can surely feel
them. This night is an important
feast and evocation. It is a time
when family members share
memorable stories that evoke
the lives of their ancestors .

9. Dia De Los Muertos expresses this
perspective: it is not a mournful
commemoration but a happy and
colorful celebration where Death takes
a lively, friendly expression and is not
frightening or strange. There is no
place for sorrow or weeping for this
could be interpreted as a discourteous
to the dead relatives who are visiting
gladly. Indigenous people believed that
souls did not die, that they continued
living in Mictlán (Place of Death) a
special place for them to finally rest.

10. Altars are decorated with
candles, buckets of flowers
mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates
of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas
and big Day-of-the-Dead breads
called pan de muerto. The altar
needs to have lots of food,
bottles of soda, hot cocoa and
water for the weary spirits. Toys
and candies are left for the
angelitos.

11. Since the theme of this
year’s Day of the Dead
celerebration is Quinceañera
they had an altar with actual
15 year old girls dressed in
their quiceañera dresses
with their beautiful crowns
and have their faces painted
with sugar skull designs.

12. They have different
booths, one of which is
where they do painting
your face with the sugar
skulls. The people doing
the face painting also
have sugar skulls painted
on their faces.

13. There are also musical performances by Grammy
Award winning recording artists such

14. SUGAR SKULL
Sugar skulls represented a
departed soul, had the name
written on the forehead and
was placed on the home
ofrenda or gravestone to honor
the return of a particular spirit.
Sugar skull art reflects the folk
art style of big happy smiles,
colorful icing and sparkly tin
and glittery adornments.

15. ROBIN WILLIAMS
Starting as a stand-up
comedian in San
Francisco and Los
Angeles in the mid-
1970s, he is credited with
leading San Francisco's
comedy renaissance.

16. BELA “DRACULA”
LUGOSI
Bela Lugosi, was a
Hungarian-American
actor, famous for
portraying Count Dracula
in the original 1931 film
and for his roles in
various other horror films.